Fireworks

Gunpowder was discovered when the mixture of charcoal and saltpeter came into contact with yellow sulfur, which is commonly found in rocks. .
             An unknown person found that if the gunpowder mixture was put inside of the bamboo tubes and thrown in the fire to be ignited, the gases produced by the burning gunpowder would blast the tube apart with a much louder and more powerful bang. One of the first written records of the use of fireworks is Chinese. A description of how to make gunpowder into a small, firecracker-like "fire pill- was found in a book that is believed to have been written in 1040 A.D. (Anderson, Brown 16). It was later that the Chinese developed a device using the tube of bamboo sealed with clay at one end and a fuse at the other. With that, the firecracker was born. .
             The firecracker was widely used, but until the 19th century, fireworks lacked an essential characteristic: color. Pyrotechnicians, or fireworks technicians, began to use a combination of potassium chlorate and various metallic salts to make the brilliant colors. The salts of these metals produce the different colors: strontium burns red; copper makes blue; barium glows green; and sodium, yellow. Magnesium, aluminum, and titanium were found to give off white sparkles or a flash (Kennedy 135). These salts are what make the fireworks spectacular and exciting to witness. .
             In addition to the gunpowder and special color chemicals, fireworks contain other essential ingredients. Explosive fireworks contain a chemical called an oxidizer. This chemical produces the oxygen needed for rapid burning. All explosives also contain a fuel. This chemical combines with the oxygen in the oxidizer. This process is called burning. Another important part of explosive fireworks is called the binder. It must be carefully mixed with the fuel so that the fuel particles are exactly the right distance apart (Anderson, Brown 21).